Method and apparatus for producing a regular progression of materials in vertical ovens



.l. PIETERS. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCTNG A REGULAR PROGRESSION OF MATERIALS IN VERTTCAL OVENS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.18, 1919.

Patented Aug v mmvron uZ {e71 Pie 7's,

A TTORNEYS WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JULIEN PIETERS, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO SOCIETE DU FOUR VERTICAL CONTINU, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

Application filed March 18, 1919. Serial No. 283,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ULIEN PIETERS, a citizen of the French Republic, and residing in Paris, France, 12 Rue de la Rochefoucauld, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Improved Methods and Apparatus for Producing a Regular Progression of Materials in Vertical Ovens, (for which I have filed'an application in France, March 1, 1918,) of which the following is a complete specification.

This invention has for itsobject to provide an improved method and apparatus for causing the charge to travel in a regular manner in vertical ovens serving for the distillation of pulverulent materials such as coal. 1

In the United States Patent No. 1,308,641, datedJuly 1, 1919, and the French Patent No. 484,445, dated 10 February, 1917, there is described an apparatus for charging continuous vertical coke ovens which consists in the use of a coke pusher traveling above the ovens arranged in abattery so as to allow of exerting a very considerable pressure upon the upper portion of the coal contained in the feeding hoppers of the ovens, so as to maintain the ovens closed in an air tight manner by the material under treatment.

In this apparatus the tightness of the upper part of the oven is effected solely by means of the mass of coal contained in hopper which forms a prolongation of the oven.

WVhen a number of ovens are arranged in the form of a battery, these feeding hoppers are connected together at their upper parts by a common reservoir one end of which receives a supply of coal.

This coal may be distributed uniformly above the several ovens by any suitable means or by means of the push plate .of the coke pusher which then constitutes a single movable push platefor the several ovens.

For the purpose of exerting greater pressures, so as not only to effectively prevent the escape of gas, but also to cause the material to travel regularly through the oven, and the coke discharged therefrom, I employ a pusher having a push plate whose bearing surface differs but slightly from the upper section of the feeding hopper.

By this means if the feed reservoir connecting the'hoppers is quite empty at the oven which it is desired to 'discharge,-the

pressure of the coke pusher applied directly to the upper part of the hopper and approximately over its entire section, will produce the same efiect as that of a piston in a closed casing containing a pulverulent materialwhich is of itself only slightly compressible. In such a case it is a known fact that the pressure which it is possible to exert upon the said material is very great and will depend mainly upon'the strength of the casing.

Nevertheless, in order that a great pressure should be actually applicable to the coke pushers of coke ovens, it is advisable that this pressure shall not be maintained continuously during a very long period, because the relatively weak brickwork of the ovens to whichthis pressure is transmitted at least partly, would not be able to withstand any considerable strain of this kind.

Thus, in the case of ovens wherein the operation is really continuous, that is to say,

wherein the progress of the materials does not cease at any moment, the application of a coke pusher capable of exerting a very great pressure, encounters almost insurmountable difficulties.

This however does not apply to ovens operated by the discharging process described in French Patent No. 484,492, dated 16 Feb ruary, 1917. In that case the oven is continuous only inasmuch as it is continuously discontinuous, that is to say, the materials remain stationary during the greater part of their stay in the oven, and they are set in motion only during very short periods occurring at very long intervals. Now during these very short periods it is" possible to exert upon the mass which is to be caused to progress, a sufiicient pressure to detach it from the sides of the oven even if the adhesion resists ordinary pressures.

It will. thus be seen that by my improvement the material is compressedand forced to travel through the ovens and to be dis charged therefrom, thereby permitting continuous vertical ovens to be discharged with at least as much ease as the discharging of ordinary discontinuous horizontal ovens.

If the feeding reservoir connecting the hoppers should on the contrary be filledmore or less completely with coal, as shown at the left of Fig. 2, then a tubularcasing or extension having a section equal to that of the end of the hopper, is forced by means of a suitable mechanism that may or may not form one hoppers; and

g. L is a vertical section at right angl s to Fig. l and showing it applied to a number of ovens.

in these figures, the ovens A are surmounted by feeding hoppers B surmounted in their turn by the feeding reservoir C which connects them together.

The coal arrives either from a coke tower situated at the side of the battery of ovens, or f m a tower extending above the ovens ov-e the entire length of the battery.

The push plate 6 can be raised and lowered and caused to be moved to permit it enter any one of the hoppers or moved so as to c. 'ibute tne coal in the reservoir by any suitable means. As shown in the drawinx track rails a" are arranged'above the reservoir and a carriage 5 provided with wheels 0 is mounted on the track rails. The carri gre c ies pinions (Z meshing with the racks P carried by the push plate E. The pinions (Z are operated by means of an e ectrical motor 6 and the wheels 0 of the carare operated from the shafts of the Plnlliifi (7. too connection therewith being controlled by clutches It will thus be seen that the push plates can be moved over and forced into any one of the hoppers, or be moved so as to distribute the coal in the reservoir. The push plate E is shown the right of Fig. 2 in dotted lines, in position to as a distributor. fit the left of Fig. 2 the push plate E is shown in full and dotted lines, the dotted line position shows the plate entering the hopper direct while in the full lines the push plate is shown ng a tubular casing I which has been pre iously forced into the coal H, the casing 1 havin horizontal section equal to the secti n or tl e upper part of the hopper, so that coist tntcs so to speak a tubular prolongation of the said, hopper part.

The action of the push plate inside this casing .i. will'be the same as if the hopper had been e nded up to the upper part of the reservoir without any discontinuity.

This casing I may as shown in Fig. 2, consist of an entirely independent part 1novoft-he coke pusher, into the coal above able over the ovens, or it may form part of the mechanism of the coke pusher. Its actuation may be effected by power or even by hand, by means of any suitable devices.

Owing to the arrangement in series of the several compartments or cavities constituting the ovens, but more particularly owing to the tight-jointing method which allows of leaving the ovens completely open without any mechanical intermediate closure by means of sluice valves, cocks or any other means, a single coke pusher movable over the ovens is sufficient to serve the entire battery. This means however cannot be applied to continuous ovens of the ordinary known construction which are not fitted with the tight-j ointing method described in the before referred to patents.

This tight-jointing method, in addition to having the advantage of allowing of using a single coke pusher capable of exerting a very great pressure, has the further advantage of maintaining the mass of coal which is being coke-d in the oven, under a fairly considerably constant and continuous pressure, which facilitates the formation of the coke even where the coal treated has very little agglomerating property.

Although acting upon fine pulverulent materials, the coke pusher can exert a very great pressure because on the one hand the said materials are inclosed in a tight casing, and on the other hand the push plate of the oven because it is applied only dura very short period which is not sufficient to allow it to be transmitted fully to the walls of the oven, owing to the discharging process produced by successive discontinuities described in French Patent No. 484,492.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is:

1. The herein described method of producing a regular progression of materials in a battery of open ended Vertical retorts adapted to be closed by the material there in, consisting in exerting upon the upper surface of the materials of the several retorts very great pressure by means of a single member movable over the several retorts and in'a-nd out of the same, the section of the bearing area of said member being slightly less than the corresponding section of the retorts.

2. In an apparatus described, the combination with a battery of retorts, a reservoir. a plurality of hoppers leading from the bottom of the reservoir to the retorts, and apush plate for forcing the material in the In testimony I have hereunto set my hand hoppers, of a tubular member having a secat Paris (France), this 25th day of Febru- 10 tion corresponding to the section of the hopary, 1919.

pers and arranged in the reservoir over a T 1 5 hopper to form an extension thereof, said JULIEL PIErlERS member being adapted to contain the mate- In the presence of two Witnesses:

rial of the hopper and in which the push JOHN F. SrMoNs,

plate Works. D. H. SLAWsoN. 

